RAMSEY RUFC v Helsby RUFC

1. Dave Harding 2. Myles Ellis 3. Dave Hinks 4.Stevie Brew 5. John Watling 6. Louis Higgins
7. Andy Wilson 8. Tynan Pritchard (C) 9. Gareth Hinge 10. Fintan Cummins 11. Danny Turner
12. Aneurin Pritchard 13. Nick McCudden 14. Adam Yates 15. Garry Vernon
Subs: 16. Davide Mazzone 17. Henry Doran 18. Simon Hirtenstein 19. Matty Livesey

Match Report

It may have been their first home league match but you would never have guessed it as Ramsey dominated from start to finish to beat Helsby 40-5 at the Mooragh Park.

Youngster Fintan Cummins got proceedings underway in the very first minute. Ramsey scrum half Gareth Hinge chipped into space and when Helsby full back Kev Ryder attempted to clear the ball on the volley he smacked it straight into the waiting arms of the chasing Cummins who outpaced the defence to make it 5-0 and then 7-0 when he converted his own try. Kev Ryder missed a penalty for Helsby shortly afterwards before Cummins extended Ramsey’s lead to 10-0 with a penalty of his own.

The fast pitch at the Mooragh proved tricky for Helsby’s big pack. They held their own in the set piece but, with the exception of number eight Jim Grey who was everywhere, they struggled to get to the breakdowns quickly enough to secure possession. This gave Ramsey a steady stream of ball which was turned into points.

Skipper Tynan Pritchard made the next breakthrough on twenty five minutes. He broke clear from the base of a midfield scrum and with passing options inside and outside, he chose out, which found Nick McCudden who raced down the seaside touchline for a try and a 15-0 lead. Cummins banged over another conversion to make it 17-0, much to the delight of the home crowd.

Ramsey weren’t done yet in the first half. A concerted Helsby fightback plus some poor discipline gave the visitors some good field position with centres Andy Dean and Paul Taylor both making good ground. The defence held firm though and when the danger passed and Ramsey ground their way down to the other end. From a five metre scrum under the sticks, Aneurin Pritchard committed two defenders which allowed Nick McCudden to squeeze over for his second of the game and a 22-0 half time lead.

Ten minutes into the second half was try time again as the home side started to dominate. A huge scrummage shunt from the Ramsey eight put the defence onto the back foot and some quick hands from Cummins and McCudden created space for Tynan Pritchard to extend the lead to 27-0. Brother Anuerin added a solo try a few minutes later when his perfectly angled run went clean through the tiring defence for a 32-0 lead. Cummins then added a penalty to make it 35-0 and Ramsey were almost home and dry.